Finance Lead

The Methodist Church in Britain; Margate; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Northdown & Dashwood Surgery, a two-site GP practice in Kent, seeks a Finance Lead to manage Xero-based accounting, payroll, and NHS pension administration. You will produce monthly management accounts and lead a lost income review across all income streams.

You will design the chart of accounts, ensure timely reconciliations, and manage budgets, cash flow, and CQRS compliance, mentoring a deputy to run payroll and payments.

Qualifications

• AAT Level 3, or equivalent bookkeeping experience.
• Hands-on Xero expertise with chart of accounts design, tracking by site and cost centre.
• Experience with payroll, PAYE and NHS Pension administration.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and manage the chart of accounts in Xero, tracking costs and income by site and cost centre.
• Keep the books accurate, with bank reconciled at least weekly, purchase orders, supplier invoices and payments.
• Run monthly payroll, including PAYE, National Insurance and deductions, from HR's starter and leaver notices.
• Manage NHS Pension Scheme administration for staff, salaried GPs and partners through PCSE, including year-end pension certificates.
• Reconcile the monthly GP payment statement, drug and vaccine reimbursements, PCN income and private fees.
• Lead a lost income review across every income stream, setting out amounts, time limits and recovery effort.
• Check the QOF claims schedule against approved claims in CQRS and report missing or short payments.
• Produce weekly finance reports and monthly management accounts, with budget variances and cash flow forecasts.
• Produce quarterly reforecasts and benchmarking against comparable practices, and the yearly budget by site.
• Manage debtors and creditors, credit control, petty cash and the contract register, alerting the Head of Practice before renewal dates.
• Own payroll, purchasing, petty cash and anti-fraud procedures, and keep a trained deputy able to run payroll and payments.
• Prepare complete, reconciled records for the accountants at year end, with Partners' tax and pension information.

Skills

Xero proficiency

Payroll management

NHS Pension knowledge

Budgeting & reporting

Chart of accounts design

Bank reconciliation

Debt management

Education

AAT Level 3 or equivalent bookkeeping

AAT Level 4 or above (nice to have)

Tools

Xero

Job description

The Finance Lead post at Northdown & Dashwood Surgery, a two-site GP practice in Kent, reports to the Head of Practice as part of a new leadership team. The role runs the books in Xero, payroll and NHS pension administration, income reconciliation and monthly management reports. It stands out for a lost income review of past payments and a chart of accounts that tracks costs by site. Fit rests on expert Xero skills, payroll experience and NHS pension knowledge.

What the job involves

• Design, build and manage the chart of accounts in Xero, tracking costs and income by site and cost centre
• Keep the books accurate, with bank reconciled at least weekly, purchase orders, supplier invoices and payments
• Run monthly payroll, including PAYE, National Insurance and deductions, from HR's starter and leaver notices
• Manage NHS Pension Scheme administration for staff, salaried GPs and partners through PCSE, including year-end pension certificates
• Reconcile the monthly GP payment statement, drug and vaccine reimbursements, PCN income and private fees
• Lead a lost income review across every income stream, setting out amounts, time limits and recovery effort
• Check the QOF claims schedule against approved claims in CQRS and report missing or short payments
• Produce weekly finance reports and monthly management accounts, with budget variances and cash flow forecasts
• Produce quarterly reforecasts and benchmarking against comparable practices, and the yearly budget by site
• Manage debtors and creditors, credit control, petty cash and the contract register, alerting the Head of Practice before renewal dates
• Own payroll, purchasing, petty cash and anti-fraud procedures, and keep a trained deputy able to run payroll and payments
• Prepare complete, reconciled records for the accountants at year end, with Partners' tax and pension information

What's required

Qualifications

• AAT Level 3, or equivalent bookkeeping experience

Skills & knowledge

• Expert, hands-on Xero user, including chart of accounts design, tracking categories, budgets and custom reporting
• Experience running a full set of books, including bank reconciliation, supplier payments and credit control
• Experience running payroll, including PAYE
• Working knowledge of NHS Pension Scheme employer administration in general practice
• Experience producing management accounts and cost centre and budget reports that non-accountants can understand, with commentary

Other

• Willingness to learn general practice finance quickly
• Accurate, organised, discreet and trustworthy
• Integrity and a calm approach to deadlines

Nice to have

• AAT Level 4 or above
• Xero Advisor certification
• Experience migrating or restructuring a chart of accounts, including historical data
• Experience preparing Partners' year-end pension certificates
• Cash flow forecasting and reforecasting
• Experience benchmarking GP practice finances
• Knowledge of GP income streams, the partnership model and CQRS, plus reconciling GP payment statements and drug reimbursements
• Experience of income recovery reviews